The Colby Echo

Issue date: 2/9/07 Section: Sports

With a current record of 6 and 15, the Colby women's basketball team has thus far fallen short of their expectations for the 2006-2007 season. During the busy month of January, the Mules secured victories over the University of Maine-Machias, Gordon College and Connecticut College.

On Jan. 20, Colby traveled to New London, Connecticut to earn their first New England Small College Athletic Conference win of the season in a close 54-51 victory. Top scorer Katie McCabe '08 scored 14 points and contributed 10 rebounds to the Mule's strong effort against the Camels. After trailing by three points at halftime, Colby battled back to pull out their first NESCAC victory. Captain Tracy Nale '07 added nine rebounds and three assists, Alison Cappelloni '10 put in eight points and six rebounds and Courtney Williams '09 contributed seven points.

The next weekend Colby faced off against two other NESCAC schools, Amherst College and Trinity College. At the time of the match-up on Jan. 26 Colby entered the game as a clear underdog; their 5-12 overall record fell short of the Jeffs 12-8 overall record. During the first half, both teams struggled to gain momentum as the score fluctuated with each team gaining the lead numerous times. At halftime Colby only trailed by four points with a score of 38-34. Yet in the second half, Colby was no longer able to hang on, as the Jeffs pulled away to dominate the remainder of the game. The result was an 80-57 loss for Colby.

The next day, on Jan. 27, Trinity entered the contest with a winning record of 10-8. Once again McCabe led the Mules in points with 20 points and seven rebounds. Nale, Cappelloni and Duval all put up significant numbers for points scored. Standout player for the Bantams, Sarah Cox guided her team to an 81-62 win over Colby by scoring 30 points. This was also Trinity's first NESCAC victory.

Besides Amherst and Trinity, over January, Colby also lost to the NESCAC teams of Bowdoin College, Bates College, Middlebury College, Williams College and Wesleyan University.
The Maine Women's Basketball Coaches Association (MWBCA) named Cappelloni Rookie of the Week for the week of Jan. 7- Jan. 14. Despite playing against three strong NESCAC teams, Cappelloni averaged 18.7 points and 9.3 rebounds against Bates, Middlebury and Williams. She commenced the week with 20 points and 14 rebounds during the Mules 75-66 loss to Bates. Cappelloni scored 17 points with eight rebounds and three assists against Middlebury on Friday Jan. 12 and then finished up on Saturday Jan. 13 with 19 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots during a 76-55 loss to the Williams Ephs. At the time of her honor, Cappelloni led the Mules in blocked shots (15), 3-point field goal percentage (.333, 14-for-42) and defensive rebounds (61). She earned a starting position during her ninth game for Colby and will likely continue to be a significant contributor in the following seasons.

Reporter for the Boston Globe, Craig Larson, featured Cappelloni in a Jan. 21 article entitled "Cappelloni doesn't play like a rookie." Larson speculated that although the Mules have had a less than desired season, it is young players like Cappelloni and Duval who are likely to turn the program around for head Coach Lori McBride in the next few years.

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